A lack of empathetic characters cripples this poorly paced but well acted drama about an Iranian family who purchase a city-auctioned bungalow in Northern California after its former tenant has been unjustly evicted.
House of Sand and Fog (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted: 165
Fresh: 125
Rotten:40
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Consensus: Powerful and thought provoking film.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for some violence/disturbing images, language and a scene of sexuality
Runtime: 2 hrs 6 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Dec 19, 2003 Limited
Box Office: $12,924,917
Synopsis: Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction... Ben Kingsley and Jennifer Connelly star in the powerful drama HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG as two people fighting over the same house. Connelly is Kathy, a troubled young woman struggling with addiction and her husband's departure. Lost in her funk, she fails to check her mail, which includes letters threatening to evict her. After she is thrown out of the house she grew up in--wrongly, it turns out, so she seeks legal representation--Massoud Amir Behrani (Kingsley) buys the property at auction with the goal of selling it at a huge profit so his family can live a better life. Behrani, a former colonel in the Iranian army, is determined to make his family's move to the United States a successful one--nothing matters more to him than his wife and son's well-being. But when he sees Kathy sleeping in a car outside his fence, he knows he is in for a fight. Based on the book by Andre Dubus III, Vadim Perelman's directorial debut is a fascinating study of family in the United States. Kathy has no one to turn to--her father is dead, her husband has abandoned her, and she's too frightened to seek help from her mother or brother. She falls for Lester (Ron Eldard), a deputy sheriff who claims to no longer love his wife. And Behrani is so dedicated to his wife (Shohreh Aghidashloo in a riveting performance) and son (Jonahtan Ahdout) that he blinds himself to Kathy's dire situation. HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG is a relentless, thought-provoking work that will linger with audiences long after the film ends. [More]
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout
Starring: Ben Kingsley, Jennifer Connelly, Ron Eldard, Jonathan Ahdout, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Frances Fisher, Kim Dickens, Navi Rawat
Director: Vadim Perelman
Director: Vadim Perelman
Screenwriter: Vadim Perelman, Shawn Otto
Producer: Michael London, Vadim Perelman
Composer: James Horner
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC
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Reviews for House of Sand and Fog
Vadim Perelman's "House of Sand and Fog" is one of the low points of the current movie season. But then it's meant to be.
The dramatic scheme is to show how two people ... intersect "tragically," but what we see is a group of characters who act as wrongheadedly and intransigently as imaginable.
House of Sand and Fog is an intense, thought- provoking movie experience
Perelman ... has a distinct and shadowy style that gives each scene an edge of menace, but he does not exploit style or draw attention to it.
Who would think a fight over real estate would be so fascinating, so gut wrenching to watch?
A pesar de los excesos del libreto, la película atrapa gracias a la notable dirección de Perelman, apoyada sobre todo en la impecable fotografía de Roger Deakins (...)
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